Ducati-mounted riders claimed the top four fastest laps on the final day of the MotoGP 2019 Sepang Pre-Season Test.
The four Ducati riders were among six who broke the previous test record.
Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki tested new fairings during the test.
Ducati mounted riders staged a demolition of the pre-season test record on the final day of the MotoGP 2019 Sepang Pre-season Test.
New Mission Winnows Ducati rider, Danilo Petrucci used the combination of new soft tyres from Michelin to destroy the “unofficial” lap record. He becomes the fastest bike ever to lap the Sepang International Circuit with an amazing time of 1m 58.239s. His time is nearly 0.6s faster than the 1m 58.830s record set by Jorge Lorenzo last year.
The factory Ducati team debuted a new fairing with 3 spoilers on each side today. Petrucci had crashed while testing it but recovered his composure.
Petrucci’s feat was among Ducati’s domination with four riders leading the timesheets. New Pramac Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia recorded the second fastest time of 1m 58.302s while his teammate Jack Miller recorded 1m 58.366s to finish third fastest.
In fourth was veteran factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso with a time of 1m 58.538s.
The next fastest brand was a factory Yamaha, which Maverick Vinalez took to fifth with a time of 1m 58.644s. Vinalez was the fastest man yesterday with 1m 58.897s yesterday but saw himself being relegated down the order today despite improving on his time. Yamaha were also testing a new fairing today.
Cal Crutchlow also improved from his previous best time of 1m 59.566s to record 1m 58.780s but found himself just sixth quickest!
A total of six riders dipped under the old 1m 58.830s mark. No one believed motorcycles could circulate the SIC track under 2m 0s just two years ago.
Aleix Espargaro of the Factory Aprilia Gresini team did well to put the RS-GP in seventh. Franco Morbidelli also did well to finish eight quickest on the Petronas Yamaha SRT bike. Takaaki Nakagami concluded the test ninth fastest, while Valentino Rossi found himself way back in tenth with a time of 1m 59.148s.
The opening day’s fastest man, Marc Marquez languished in eleventh as he suddenly realized that his shoulder was causing him problems.
But perhaps the biggest surprise was finding Alex Rins of Suzuki Ecstar in eleventh after great showings on the first and second days of testing. Suzuki was elated yesterday as Rins recorded the second fastest time on worn tyres yesterday. Being fast on used tyres means the bike could finish in a strong position in a real race.
The KTM riders are still struggling on Day 3 and ended up in the last four among regular MotoGP riders. Fastest rider Johann Zarco finished seventeenth quickest ahead of Pol Espargaro, Miguel Oliveira and Hafizh Syahrin.
The next and last pre-season test will take place at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar from 23rdFebruary, before the 2019 season kicks off on 10thMarch.
Monster Yamaha rider Maverick Vinalez was the fastest rider on Day 2 of the MotoGP 2019 Sepang Winter Test.
His blistering time of 1m 58.897s was just 0.067s behind the fastest Winter Test record.
Marc Marquez was relegated to 8thafter being fastest on Day 1.
The MotoGP 2019 Pre-Season test kicked off at the Sepang International Circuit yesterday. The action continues today with Maverick Vinalez of Monster Energy Yamaha factory teaming claiming the fastest time.
Repsol Honda rider and defending world champion Marc Marquez secured the fastest time on the first day, allaying fears of his recovering shoulder. He put in only 29 before stopping to allow his shoulder to rest, leaving his time of 1m 59.621s on the board for the night.
But how things can change in less than 24 hours in MotoGP.
Valentino Rossi (Monster Yamaha) started out the day fastest before being toppled by Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnows Ducati) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda).
Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) then took over from Dovizioso. Rins had placed his Suzuki as second fastest yesterday. Pramac Ducati rider Jack Miller improved on his times and also went ahead of Dovizioso.
However, a late charge by Vinalez put him right on top for the day. He was the only rider to lap under the 1m59s mark, with 1m 58.897s. That’s still just 0.067 second to Repsol Honda rider Jorge Lorenzo’s unofficial Sepang record of 1m 58.830s he set during the 2018 Winter Test on a Ducati.
Judging by today’s times, a few riders may well dip under 1m 58s tomorrow if the weather holds. That’s because the top 19 riders were covered by just 1 second!
As for Marquez, he could go no faster than 1m 59.790 with the new engine. The time relegated him to 8th. His new teammate Jorge Lorenzo is also missing from the test as he nurses his broken scaphoid.
Apart from Johann Zarco who finished 11thbest, the other KTM riders languished in the lower positions as they try to tame and sort out the RC16 wild beast.